


and they were roommates

by flydunes



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Aang/Katara, Minor Toph/Suki, Sokka Likes Perfect Roommates, The Inherent Homoromanticism of Mariokart, Who is the Himbo in This Situation, Zuko Is The Perfect Roommate, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, he's just... super dumb, lapslock, mentions of jet but he's an asshole who got arrested for assaulting old people, sokka is an idiot, this is just a collection of short scenarios there is no storyline, when u realise you've been in love with your roommate the whole time... wack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24716689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flydunes/pseuds/flydunes
Summary: ROOMMATE NEEDED URGENTLY!- must be ok with the smell of multi-purpose cleaner and must not leave underwear around the place- must enjoy various cuisines, including but not limited to:> chinese takeout> 7/11 sushi> cereal for dinner> mac n cheese made of cheez whiz and instant ramen noodles (flavour packet optional)- must pass the sister-and-her-boyfriend-and-also-my-blind-friend-and-her-girlfriend test- must be at least moderately enthusiastic about nintendo and at least semi-competent at mariokart- apartment is clean and modern, decent sized shower with actual hot water, small bedrooms but good living room- pets are welcome, as long as they don't have rabies- a few minutes walk to campus with many hipster coffee shops along the way- your potential future roommate is very cool and awesome, trust me when i say this--sokka gets a new roommate, and it all goes downhill from there.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 85
Kudos: 670





	1. oh my god they were roommates

**Author's Note:**

> wowww look at me falling in love with avatar,,, i never watched the series as a kid because if it wasn't on cartoon network then i didn't watch it so thanks netflix for letting me absorb this Beautiful Content. 
> 
> this fic has No Plot it's just zukka falling in love and is effectively literary fiction, aka character and relationship exploration babeyyyy!! I'm really just writing this whenever i feel like it so please expect unpredictable updates. 
> 
> also zuko has Trauma, of course, so minor tw for that and also maybe panic attacks and slight depression references? I'm not big on angst or majorly exploring the human psyche so it will be brief, but i'll still specify when The Discussion Of Trauma is happening :)
> 
> oh hey also i fucked with the ages of the gaang so that katara isn't dating a highschooler. aang and toph are 19, katara is 20, sokka and suki are 22 and Zuko is 23. okie enjoy y'all!!!

**ROOMMATE NEEDED URGENTLY!**  
\- must be ok with the smell of multi-purpose cleaner and must not leave underwear around the place  
\- must enjoy various cuisines, including but not limited to:  
> chinese takeout  
> 7/11 sushi  
> cereal for dinner  
> mac n cheese made of cheez whiz and instant ramen noodles (flavour packet optional)  
\- must pass the sister-and-her-boyfriend-and-also-my-blind-friend-and-her-girlfriend test  
\- must be at least moderately enthusiastic about nintendo and at least semi-competent at mariokart  
\- apartment is clean and modern, decent sized shower with actual hot water, small bedrooms but good living room  
\- pets are welcome, as long as they don't have rabies  
\- a few minutes walk to campus with many hipster coffee shops along the way  
\- your potential future roommate is very cool and awesome, trust me when i say this

\--

sokka goes through about seven applicants for the available bedroom in his clean and modern apartment that smells very strongly of multi-purpose cleaner before he meets The One. the other seven applicants were... sketchy, and that's even compared to his previous roommate who had serious anger issues and a weird obsession with robbing old people, who sokka kicked out because he got arrested for assaulting, surprise surprise, an old person. one guy liked robbing old people even more than the previous roommate (which, how?) which meant he was put in the 'fuck no' list immediately, and the only girl that applied didn't pass the sister-and-her-boyfriend-and-also-my-blind-friend-and-her-girlfriend test due to her horrific ableism and tendency to make snide remarks at said blind friend. she, of course, also went into the 'fuck no' list. 

so by the time the seventh applicant came and went, sokka was tired and starting to consider moving into the student dorms because holy shit, he could not afford the rent for this place on his own. he went maybe two days without another applicant, and then -

 **from: unknown**  
hello, is this the guy with the roommate ad?

 **to: unknown**  
yes indeed this is, r u requesting a meet n greet with me, my sister, her boyfriend, my blind friend and her girlfriend in order 2 potentially move in?

 **from: unknown**  
yes

 **to: unknown**  
can u come by tomorrw 2 scope out the place n meet my people?

 **from: unknown**  
yes

 **to: unknown**  
sweet, i just need u 2 bring ur id

 **from: unknown**  
okay, i will see you tomorrow

 **to: unknown**  
see u tomorrow!

and this guy - _this guy_ \- was perfect. zuko was polite, if a little awkward, and he passed the sister-boyfriend-blind-friend-girlfriend test with flying colours, judging by the way toph was practically clinging to his arm after twenty minutes of their meet and greet. he was quiet, and working his way up to a masters in law, and had a huge burn scar across a quarter of his face, and when asked what his favourite food was he replied with "ramen from this hole-in-the-wall place near campus" and sokka knew exactly what place he was talking about. he had even brought tea for everyone and when asked where he got it from, he said his uncle ran a tea shop that he also worked at, which meant sokka might get free tea whenever he wanted.

sokka texts zuko letting him know that he passed the test two hours after zuko leaves, only because sokka wanted to give his friends a little time to 'deliberate', i.e. gossip about law majors and sokka's poor eating habits. if he had it his way, he would have asked zuko to move in right there and then.

it's another week before zuko moves his stuff in. by then, he's already been added to the rental agreement, received the spare keys, bought sokka three more cups of tea, and been narrowly beaten by sokka at mariokart.

"need some help with the boxes?" sokka asks when zuko brings the first few boxes into the apartment, stacked up pretty high, and sokka can tell right away that this guy has one hell of a workout routine because two of those boxes have 'books' scrawled in law student chicken scratch across the sides. 

"if you don't mind," zuko replies, walking the boxes into his new room, "my uncle is coming up with more boxes so we may just need help with furniture, though."

sokka goes downstairs to find a rental van and an old guy fishing out the last few boxes from the back seat of the van.

"iroh," the old man introduces himself without even looking at sokka, "but you can call me uncle."

sokka thinks zuko can't get even more perfect.

but then zuko picks up dishwashing duty every second day without even being asked, volunteers to make dinner on nights where he's not bombarded by readings because, duh, law major, and even removes his shoes at the door, and sokka kind of can't stop talking about the guy. 

"if you like him so much, why not ask to marry him?" katara groans as sokka waxes poetic about zuko doing his laundry every single saturday without fail, and sokka almost actually considers it.

"he's the perfect roommate, katara!" he cries, "he is so, so, so much better than jet!"

"every human being on earth is better than jet," katara points out, and sokka has to raise an eyebrow because katara totally absolutely one hundred percent did not have a crush on jet when he and sokka first started living together. sokka doesn't even remember how that ended up happening, it's not like he ever even liked the guy. katara ignores sokka's raised eyebrow in favour of taking a sip of her spiced orange ceylon tea, of which sokka absolutely got for free because iroh is a Great Uncle. 

aang chooses that moment to walk into the jasmine dragon, find the siblings in their corner by the window, and make a beeline straight over, which means he and katara start making gooey eyes at each other and being gross and lovey-dovey and did sokka say gross? because he means disgusting. he sits and stares at his phone and drinks his green tea with honey and tries to ignore the lovebirds for maybe three minutes before he gets fed up of their little whispers and giggles to each other and leaves after making obnoxious retching sounds that definitely don't make the other patrons of the tea shop stare at him.

he's walking down the road towards the 7/11 to get eggs and milk because zuko had used up the rest making french toast that morning when, speak of the devil, he bumps into the guy. 

"hey, man," sokka says, grinning. zuko smiles back, a closed-mouthed affair, because he's still a little shy, but not so shy that he still makes french fucking toast before class, apparently. 

"i was just on my way to the tea shop. i'll be working until six, would you like me to bring home some takeout?" zuko asks, polite as ever, and sokka is so tempted to drop down on one knee and marry him and move to sweden and adopt eight dogs with the guy because, heavens above, zuko is perfect with a capital p, e, r, f, e, c, and t. 

"that'd be great!" sokka claps his hands together. "what do you feel like?"

"i know a good burger place. am i correct in assuming you're a loaded fries kind of guy?"

sokka stares at zuko, absolutely dumbfounded. _is he a loaded fries kind of guy._ is the grass fucking green? "i think you might be the most perfect person i've ever met," sokka blurts, and he's honestly kind of shocked to see zuko turn a very bright shade of red, almost as red as his burn scar, and it goes all the way under his high-collared shirt, and holy shit are his hands red too? holy shit. 

zuko must be having some kind of meltdown because his mouth gapes open and closed like a goldfish and he makes these slight mewling sounds? and he doesn't stop clenching and unclenching his fists, and oh god this is too hilarious, but he was on his way to work and so he probably should get to work. sokka waves a hand in front of his face.

"you alright?" he asks, and zuko blinks before snapping back to reality. 

"shit, sorry! i just - oh god, i'm so sorry - i don't know what - um. ishouldgetgoingi'llseeyoutonight." zuko zooms off, somehow even redder than before. sokka stares at his retreating form for a few seconds, before shaking his head. 

"what was i doing again?"

\--

the loaded fries are incredible, and sokka is definitely eating there twice a week for the rest of his life. 

\--

zuko settles in and pays half the rent and keeps cooking every few days and brings home dinner on other days and one time he beats sokka at mariokart. it's like this for maybe three weeks until sokka brings up the scar. 

"so, maybe a sensitive question," sokka starts, slow and wary, leaning on the kitchen counter while zuko juliennes various vegetables with scary precision, "how did you get the scar?"

zuko freezes, just for a moment, before continuing to show off his superior knife skills. like a show-off. sokka can barely cut a cucumber in half. "it's a long story." there's something defensive in his tone that makes sokka drop it. he can't quite figure out how to bring the mood back up without making things awkward so he leaves the kitchen to go watch love island on the tv. he knows zuko hates it and rants about it every time he tries to watch it, but this time zuko stays quiet. 

he stays quiet all through the episode while they're eating dinner, and he stays quiet while he does the dishes, and he stays quiet while he reads his huge law books on the couch. he doesn't speak at all for the rest of the night, in fact. 

he leaves sokka a plate of bacon and eggs in the morning, and sokka doesn't see him for the rest of the day. 

**to: roomie**  
hey im sorry 4 bringing it up last night

 **to: roomie**  
it was really stupid of me and now ur really quiet n im rly sorry

 **to: roomie**  
ill shout ramen 2nite, what kind would u like

 **from: roomie**  
ajisen, please. also pork gyoza?

 **to: roomie**  
k, c u later bro

 **from: roomie**  
see you later

when sokka walks through the door thirty minutes later with a bag of food and two bottles of coke in his hands, zuko is on the couch, fiddling with his thumbs. 

"i'm really sorry for being weird," zuko says before sokka can even open his mouth. "it's just kind of hard to talk about."

"that's alright," sokka replies, putting the food and drinks on the coffee table. "you don't need to. consider the whole conversation forgotten."

zuko smiles, and it's the most relaxed, genuine, kind smile sokka's ever seen in him. 

\--

one afternoon, sokka is sitting cross-legged on the floor playing uno with suki, katara and aang while toph curls up at the edge of the couch with her support cane propped up against it. the game is only a little competitive, and by a little competitive he means he's only three seconds away from blatantly cheating. or he would be, if suki wasn't keeping her eyes firmly on sokka's hands. she knows him too well. 

there's a click as the front door unlocks and everyone looks up to see zuko walk in, dressed in his high-collared work shirt and slacks. he toes off his loafers and sokka takes the chance to flip a card into the wrist of his jacket while no one is looking.

"hi," zuko mumbles, and the group offers their greetings in return. 

"wanna join?" aang asks, and zuko considers it for a second,. 

"sure," he replies, "but let me change first. i'll play in the next round."

suki smiles. "great! you can replace sokka because he's a cheating bastard."

"hey!" sokka cries indignantly, "aang and katara are literally working with each other! they've been swapping cards with each other this whole time!"

suki gasps and glares at the two, who both quickly adopt puppy eyes. toph lets out a sharp bark of laughter. 

a few more cards are placed down and sokka takes the chance to stash a few more cards up his sleeve whenever suki is squinting at katara and aang, and then zuko emerges from his room in joggers and a sweatshirt. 

a sweatshirt that looks suspiciously like the one sokka accidentally left in the bathroom a few weeks ago and forgot to take out, which ended up in it going missing. zuko's only a few centimetres shorter than sokka so it fits him well, and sokka has half a mind to let him keep it. but it's one of his favourite sweatshirts, one he scored in a thrift store about a year ago, and he wants it back.

"is that my sweatshirt?" he asks, and everyone's heads swivel to him and then to zuko. zuko goes slightly pink under the stares and fidgets with his fingers. 

"uh, yeah, i guess it is."

sokka narrows his eyes. "give it back when you wash it, okay?" he asks, and zuko nods before sitting down with his legs drawn up to his chest. 

they finish the game, suki somehow winning without cheating a single time, and when she redistributes the cards, zuko gets a small pile. sokka manages to fake a huge stretch and takes a peek at zuko's deck, and suki's given him all wild cards and plus 2s, the bitch. sokka looks at his own deck. three blues, two greens and two yellows. all are numbers, with not a special card to be seen. 

a few cards are placed when suki points at aang and starts to lecture him about slipping a card to katara. in the noise and distraction, zuko slips sokka a wild card. 

"trade a blue and call it, and maybe i'll let you win."

\--

sokka finds his stolen sweatshirt folded on his bed the next day, even though it's a wednesday and definitely not zuko's laundry day, and when he picks it up to put it away it smells like zuko, all pine smokey and familiar. he ignores the desire to stuff his face in it and breath in heavily.


	2. oh my god they played mariokart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uhhh, oops. it's been a month lol. i have like five zukka wips that i'll finish writing at some point. i've gone back to (online) uni so prepare for me to drop off the face of the planet for three months. thank y'all for all the love, i almost cried reading the comments <3
> 
> (tw for panic attacks and mentions of alcohol)

sokka wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of the fire alarm. at first, because it's the middle of the night, he's a little confused, but then it kind of sinks in that _holy shit the fire alarm is going off_ and he scrambles out of bed, throws on the first jacket he sees, grabs his phone, rushes out of his room, and bangs straight into zuko. 

"what's -" zuko gasps, and sokka shrugs, grabs his arm, and hauls the both of them out of there. the lift isn't operating, because, you know, fire alarm, so they join the throng of harried residents going down the stairs. they get out of the building and stand slightly out of the way on the sidewalk, and then the adrenaline wears off and sokka can breathe. 

the first thing he does is check his phone. four am. and he has an economics class at nine. great. 

the second thing he does is look at zuko. even in the gross yellow light of the streetlight, he looks pale, and he's staring at his hands and is very obviously trying to control his breathing.

"you okay?" sokka asks, and zuko breathes in a shaky breath before ever-so-slightly shaking his head. sokka doesn't ask questions, doesn't pry and doesn't talk, just wraps the guy in a big hug, his arms around zuko's shoulders. he can feel zuko's heartbeat, hammering away against his jacket, and he can feel how laboured zuko's breath is, and so he rests his forehead on zuko's shoulder and holds him tight. 

it's a few seconds before zuko's arms wrap around sokka's waist and he rests his cheek against his shoulder, and sokka can hear him mumbling breathing exercises. 

they stay like that as the fire department enters the building and they stay like that as the fire department comes back out and assures the anxious crowd that the fire alarm was just a second-floor resident's ancient playstation was getting smokey and that the building is safe to reenter.

sokka is the first to let go, but he still holds his hands on zuko's shoulders and looks into his eyes, and asks, "are you doing alright now?"

"yeah," zuko whispers, "i'm better."

sokka doesn't talk about the panic attack, and even though he can't stop thinking about it, he knows he shouldn't. so he doesn't bring it up, and zuko doesn't bring it up, and they're kind of quiet around each other for the next few days until sokka puts on another episode of love island and zuko goes on an absolute tirade about the sheer stupidity of people and how sitting around in bikinis is such a waste of time, and then everything is okay and back to normal, and the two eat sokka's legendary cheez whiz mac n cheese straight out of the pot for breakfast the day after and sokka definitely doesn't think about how terrified zuko is of the concept of fire.

\--

ever since katara and aang had first met (which means since sokka and aang first met by proxy), aang had invited the siblings to his adoptive father's house for a halloween party every year. gyatso was chill about it; for the first few years, it was just aang, katara and sokka hanging out and eating candy in the living room while watching halloween movies. then toph had come into the fray and so it was just aang, katara, sokka and toph hanging out and eating candy in the living room, and even though toph couldn't see she still enjoyed hearing sokka's not-screams-they're-manly-yells-thank-you-very-much-katara-stop-laughing throughout the halloween movies. when sokka started college, he'd met suki, so she'd been invited to the halloween parties. 

jet was not allowed at the halloween parties because when he heard the words 'halloween party' he thought they meant "ah yes let's bring a shitton of alcohol, peer pressure katara into drinking some then try to jump on the trampoline aang had out the back then break his arm and also somehow the trampoline and also assault an old person (gyatso)". so yeah. no halloween parties for jet. 

even though it was just a bunch of friends hanging around at aang's place, they still dressed up, for halloween spirit and all. this year is no different.

"ta-dah!" sokka sings as he exits his room and does a twirl. zuko, sitting on the couch, stares. "how do i look?"

"um." zuko's face slowly moulds into something vaguely disgusted. "what are you meant to be?"

sukko looks down at his costume with delight. he looks back up at zuko and grins. "sexy tourist." and he is indeed, with super short cargo shorts, a bumbag, a cropped polo shirt and rugby socks pulled up to his calves. 

zuko looks frightened. "do i want to know... why?"

sokka perches on the arm of the couch. "oh, dear zuko, you have only been my friend for a few months, you would not possibly know the thrilling saga that is my yearly halloween costume! i have dressed as a tourist every single year since aang started doing these parties because i just forget every year, but not this time! i have changed it up!"

"you're still the same thing," zuko deadpans.

"but sexy!" sokka winks at zuko. "anyway, you're not dressed up!"

zuko looks confused. "am i supposed to be?" and sokka gasps, hand over his heart, almost falling off the arm of the couch. 

"you're coming to the party, aren't you? you gotta be dressed up!"

zuko looks away, but his ears are bright red so sokka can tell he's blushing. "nobody told me i was invited."

"oh, whoops, may have forgotten to tell you. well, guess what? you are! come on! we're leaving in twenty minutes so find something, stat," sokka declares. 

zuko stands up, walks into his room, and disappears for a few minutes. sokka's texting aang when zuko walks back out, sans costume. 

"i don't have anything to go as," he mumbles, and sokka grins. 

"not a problem, bro. are you opposed to wearing cargo shorts?"

\--

aang's place is a ten-minute bus ride away, during which zuko tries to avoid mortal embarrassment due to his affiliation with sokka, who is openly winking at any and all people that pass by him trying to get seats. two girls dressed as hogwarts students giggle and one old man gives him mad stink-eye, but sokka is not deterred. 

"next year," zuko starts, so sokka turns to him, "can we be something a little more lowkey?"

sokka feels something in his stomach attempt to do a backflip, fail, and break its nose. _next year._ zuko wants to do this next year. they'll still be roommates next year. he can feel his fingers starting to shake, but he ignores it. plays it cool. "you mean a tourist isn't lowkey?"

"well, i am lowkey," zuko says, "but you're not. you're wearing short shorts and you didn't even shave your legs. your fanny pack is bright pink."

sokka smirks. "just as god intended."

zuko cringes.

\--

"what's up!" sokka hollers as he walks in the doors to aang's place. gyatso's just opened the front door, so he throws a peace sign his way. "gyatso! my man! how are you!"

gyatso raises an eyebrow at sokka's costume, while aang, wearing a rather elaborate knight's costume, bursts into raucous peals of laughter. zuko trudges into the house behind sokka and aang laughs even harder, his helmet threatening to fall off.

"hey, zuko - oh my god, he roped you into this, didn't he?" katara walks into the entryway, dressed in a dinosaur onesie, and sighs, her head in her hands. "sokka, while i'm happy you finally changed your costume up, if only slightly, it's absolutely atrocious and i'm ashamed to be related to you."

"i'm ashamed to be his roommate," zuko agrees. sokka grins and pulls a series of poses, each more ridiculous than the last. katara just groans and pulls sokka towards the living room. zuko follows awkwardly before aang socks him in the arm lightly.

"thanks for coming, zuko," he says, far too earnestly for this early in the night, and zuko draws a blank on how to reply. he shrugs halfheartedly and trails after katara and sokka into the living room. 

toph is leaning on suki on the couch, the two wearing thing 1 and thing 2 t-shirts. suki looks incredibly disgusted at sokka's choice of outfit, and even more so upon seeing zuko's less sexy choice of outfit. "well," she says, "at least toph and i aren't the only ones wearing matching costumes."

"is zuko sexy? please tell me he's sexy," toph exclaims, and sokka smirks at zuko. 

"not sexy, he's wearing my normal costume. except he's wearing timbs, because he's a hipster, and he didn't want to wear my dad's old sneakers, like a loser," sokka replies, and toph groans. 

"zuko's a loser!" she declares, and sokka whoops as zuko goes beet red. 

\--

the halloween party is a success, as usual, and sokka thinks zuko fits right in with his little group of friends. he even joins in on teasing sokka whenever he screams in a very manly way during the worst jump scares. he even wears the bright pink fanny pack on the bus ride home because sokka wanted to swap.

he really couldn't get any more perfect, could he?

\--

sokka drags zuko to go get ramen on friday nights, when both of them are off school for the weekend and zuko has saturdays off from working at the jasmine dragon and they can let loose a little and drink a little and be a little more rambunctious than their wednesday pizza nights. 

sokka stabs at a piece of octopus karaage. "you know," he says, and zuko looks up from pouring himself another shot of sake, "i think toph really likes you."

zuko hums. "really? she punched me on the arm really hard," he says, and honest to god _pouts_ and sokka swallows a little too quickly and chokes on his tiny little piece of octopus. he coughs and splutters and takes huge gulps of water before he can talk again. zuko's not pouting anymore; he looks so genuinely concerned that sokka's heart gives a little squeeze. 

"i'm okay, sorry, went down the wrong hole," he says dismissively. "toph punches people as a sign of affection. the harder she punches you, the more she likes you."

zuko pulls up the sleeve of his t-shirt and wow, that's one hell of a bruise. it's a weird green-ish blue, standing out starkly against zuko's pale skin. sokka can't help but stare really hard at it. he didn't even know toph could bruise someone with her love-punches. 

"what the fuck." is all sokka can say. "dude, if she wasn't gay as hell and also with suki, i'd say she has a huge crush on you, what the fuck."

"it really hurt," zuko replies, and lowers down the sleeve of his shirt. he sips at his sake. "does she really do that with all of you?"

"i've never bruised from it," sokka says, "but i don't bruise very easily so maybe take that with a grain of salt."

"huh. i wonder why she likes me so much."

"you're very polite," sokka suggests, and chuckles when zuko smiles shyly. "and you don't take her stick."

zuko looks up in abject horror. "you've taken her cane?"

sokka grins. "yeah. back in high school. don't worry, i never took it while she was using it, only when we were sitting down. i chased aang with it or used it as a microphone. i dunno. random stuff. we've all taken it. aang tried to do a baton thing he watched the marching band kids do and hit himself in the face. katara used it to beat up a guy who was mocking toph, that was pretty badass." zuko's still looking pretty horrified so he shrugs. "maybe she's relishing in you having not taken it. maybe i wasn't supposed to tell you that it's okay to. but remember - only when she's not using it and do not forget to tell her you have it. seriously."

zuko nods solemnly. then sokka bursts out laughing, and zuko flushes a deep red. "what?" zuko stammers.

"nothing. you're very serious about it. toph loves you, you don't need to worry about upsetting her!" sokka waves a hand dismissively. "i don't know why she punches people. it's not like she hates hugs, she's an absolute sap. she'll melt into you, honestly. maybe she punches people as a way of echolocation."

"echo - what?" 

"echolocation? what dolphins do?"

"yes, i know what it is, but - really? that's a theory?" zuko's incredulous expression is kind of hilarious. sokka's grin grows wider. 

"you have no idea. random people we don't know tend come up to toph and ask if she can see. she just yells really loudly and says she saw them through echolocation. it's a bit of a running gag. congrats, zuko! you're in on a group joke!"

zuko looks way too pleased with himself, and sokka can't help himself. he tells zuko about a lot of other gags within the group, if only to see that subtly proud smile on zuko's face again.

\--

it's a saturday night, and sokka and zuko are on the couch playing mariokart. it's honestly not that often that they play, with assignments starting to mount up as they near the halfway point of their semester, but they figured a weekend break would be nice. 

zuko's good at mariokart - really good. he played a little bit growing up, but he's just naturally good, what with his fast reflexes and strategic brain and all that. it's nothing compared to sokka's near lifetime of playing games, especially mariokart, because it was the one game katara liked to play with him, and he's got even more of a strategic brain so take that, zuko, but it's enough to ruin his pride. it's mean. zuko is mean.

in fact, zuko is too good for sokka's liking. it doesn't help that the mariokart gods decided to impose their wrath upon him so he's had just the worst luck. sokka's only a little salty. just a tiny bit.

"son of a bitch!" he cries after the fifth blue shell of the race throws him off the side of cloudtop cruise. it was his fault, really, he knew it was coming and he still decided to take that turn a little too close the edge, but he was so damn close to the finish line, damn it! 

zuko cackles like the gremlin he is and his bowser zooms straight past sokka's luigi, taking out the win. sokka doesn't need to look at the points to know that zuko's won their little custom prix, so he groans loudly. 

zuko pushes at sokka's shin with his foot. "another round?" he asks, and sokka resigns himself to more bad luck, because yes he still wants to play, and yes he wants to hear zuko's gremlin cackle again. they set up another game and settle in to play again.

zuko doesn't move his foot from sokka's leg, and sokka doesn't say anything. even that small bit of contact is enough to warm sokka's whole body - zuko is a very warm person naturally, he always runs a little hot, so any touch is guaranteed to warm sokka right the fuck up. zuko always sits so still compared to sokka's constant moving so having his foot there serves to make sokka sit without fidgeting. it would almost be distracting if not for the fact that _holy shit zuko is a better mariokart player_ and that's unacceptable to sokka. completely unacceptable and not allowed in this household. 

sokka's luck is better. a lot better. he falls to twelfth place in wario's goldmine, gets a bullet bill, takes the shortcut and zooms to fifth place and then uses the bullet bill so he passes zuko. zuko kicks him and whines a little bit, grumbles a little bit more, but can't pass him before the race is over. sokka grins. 

zuko looks at him, and his little pout is back. "why did you cheat? that's unfair."

sokka shrugs. "i never cheated. i played the game, baby. also, let's do bowser's castle next."

zuko chooses baby park instead, and sokka gasps and yells and thrashes his body around in mock protest. zuko retaliates by throwing both his legs into sokka's lap, knowing that he'll stop, and _stop sokka does_. zuko gives a little smirk at sokka's sudden stillness and returns his attention to the screen, and sokka almost misses the start because he's too busy staring at zuko. 

zuko, who has his legs in sokka's lap like he owns the place. 

zuko, who uses two joycons to play because he's polite enough to let sokka take the pro-controller. 

zuko, who whines and pouts when he loses and cackles and smirks when he wins even though he's usually reserved.

(because he does, he is, and he's open around sokka)

the realisation hits sokka like a train. like a fucking freight train with twenty-eight carriages transporting trucks across the country going through a train crossing that sokka never realised was closing, never realised had a train coming through. that squeezing feeling in his heart returns, and the backflipping in his stomach resumes, and this time they're accompanied by his hands shaking and his tongue going dry. 

_oh_ , he thinks. 

_i'm in love with zuko_ , he thinks. 

oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look i've been putting mariokart in every single one of my fanfictions for like,, 5 years now. there's no way i DIDN'T jump at the chance to make mariokart the reason for sokka's realisation. 
> 
> (also hey due to some circumstances with a friend's fanfic, i would like to politely ask you guys to not sexualise this fic or the characters in it. i'm an ace lesbian and any comments about things that are sexual in nature make me extremely uncomfortable. thanks for your consideration!)
> 
> scream zukka at me on [tumblr](https://flydunes.tumblr.com/) but please note that I'm awkward as fuck and don't know how to talk to people or take compliments k bye thanks for reading


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